Wings

Firstly, it was just the prisoners that were used.
Then it became orphans, and even some of the elderly.
Now it is everyone in a society where people are struggling to find work.
Money is offered to anyone willing to volunteer themselves or their...

Epilogue

Juliet Parks had everything she wanted: wealth, technology, security – and a reputation. Now, she also had one of her sons and a group of his friends, who were all previously test subjects from an organisation called Calox. They were mutated to be better than any human with unique gifts and characteristics from their animal counterparts.

“Miss Parks,” the voice came from Dr Green, head of the technology department.

“Yes, Dr Green. What is it?” Juliet replied.

Dr Green held up a small black microchip: “I’ve created it. This is the key to what you were looking for.”

Juliet stood up, more excited that she’d been when she’d given birth to her two baby boys. That was her old life. Now, she was centred on the Justice machines and their development into every situation possible. She wanted them to be versatile, unbeatable, and human. They needed to be able to strategize – to find the most intelligent option. Dr Green’s little chip was the answer to solving all of it. Juliet was planning to bring down Calox, piece by piece, with elite machines. They would prove that no human, hybrid or otherwise, would ever be able to take on Justice. She was out to make a point – proving herself to the world as its undisputed leader. After all, she surely deserved it after accomplishing so much. With one fluid movement, she tucked her silky midnight hair behind her ear and reached for the chip.

“I hope this one doesn’t fail,” she said, stroking the chip affectionately.

Dr Green shook his head: “I assure you, it won’t.”

A satisfied smile crept onto Juliet’s face. She tucked the chip into a small case, protected by a fingerprint scanner, and slipped it into her bag. Then she wandered across the room to a small shelf, from which she took two glasses. She poured champagne into both, and handed on to Dr Green who accepted it happily. The glasses touched in a moment of celebration and they both drank to the future of Justice.

“So how are we going to test the prototypes?” Dr Green said.

“Well,” Juliet said with a twinkle in her eye, “I brought the surviving hybrids. I think they will be a reasonable match.”

Dr Green laughed: “I’ve just created a chip encoded with the ability to generate artificial intelligence, and you’re going to let those guinea pigs rip it apart.”